Ayers Rock Australia, Uguru Australia

Ayers Rock Australia, also known as Uluru Australia, is one of the most recognized and famous landmarks in Australia and this massive hill of red sandstone stands in solitary splendor amid a parched, sandy wasteland in its outback. Your visit to Australia can never be complete without visiting the Uluru Ayers Rock. Uluru National Park (320 meters), located almost at the very centre of Australia and southwest of Alice Springs, is one of the most beautiful Australia natural wonders in this part of the world and interesting tourist attraction in Northern Territory. Use this Ayers Rock travel guide to allow you to get the best deal for your hotel Ayers Rock package because there are many Uluru hotels, Ayers Rock hotels and Ayers Rock resort in the vicinity of Uluru Rock. You can find plenty of cheap hotel Ayers Rock accommodation. The Australian Aborigines, the Anangu people, who live here call Ayers Rock as Uluru National Park. Uluru Tjuta National Park is a place of reverence round which their lives have followed for thousands of years and is part of their code of living, the Tjukurpa and among the attractions seen here at the vast Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park are varied springs, waterholes, rock holes and ancient paintings making Uluru Rock or Uluru Ayers Rock one of the most spectacular in Australia.

Wind-blown sands have sculpted the domed, elephantine bulk of Ayers Rock, which rises abruptly from the flat and dry plains of the Northern Territory. Besides being a national symbol, Ayers Rock is regarded as a sacred and mystical place by the Aborigines. What makes this place interesting is that Ayer Rocks glows with ever-changing colors as the sun moves across the sky. It becomes an orange glow of sunrise as dawn breaks while it changes to dark and rusty hue during the early morning shadows. It is suffused with amber during the afternoon while sunset makes the rock into a crimson mass like a glowing giant coal. The best time to view Ayers Rock is during sunset. This holy place is often referred to as a monolith but it is actually part of a much larger underground rock formation which consists of the Olgas and Mount Connor.

Ayers Rock is a sandstone hill that was pushed up by earth movements about five hundred million years ago whereby most of it is submerged in the surrounding sea of sand dunes. The only area that is visible is its flattened 348 meters high tip which is a formation known as inselberg, or island mountain. The rock surface is covered by fine parallel grooves while caves and cavities weathered into strange shapes can be seen at its base. At northeast of the rock, a 150 meters high slab has split away and it is known as the Kangaroo's Tail.

This place is quite dry throughout the year but after the rare heavy downpour, water cascades down the rock's towering flanks. Most of the rain runs off onto the plain below which is badly needed by the plants found here such as the blue-grey sandalwood, bloodwood, mulga trees, desert oaks and hummock grass. Located on the southern end, a large pool called Mutitjulu (also known as Maggie Springs) can be seen here. According to the Aborigines, the water snakes seen in the pools are believed to be its guardian. For animal lovers, red kangaroos, wallaroos, emus, wedge-tailed eagles and honeyeaters are among the many species of animals spotted in this region.                                  Photo: The giant 'compass' seen at Uluru

Ernest Giles and William C. Gosse are the first Europeans to set eyes on Ayers Rock in which they named the rock after Sir Henry Ayers who was South Australia's premier back then. Ayers Rock has been part of the Uluru National Park since 1985. To the Anangu people, the Uluru area is a focus of converging ancestral tracks, or iwara. To them, every part of the rock has sacred significance while some caves at Mutitjulu and Kantju Gorge contained Aboriginal paintings. A tourist centre is located eighteen kilometers north of Ayers Rock at Yulara Resort which is located near the Uluru hotels. To explore the rock, you will need to walk about four hours to round the rock or you can choose to travel on a motorcycle pillion ride. Climbing up to the summit takes about two hours. For those who do not wish to walk for so long, you can choose a shorter walking tour along the Liru Trail with an Aboriginal guide explaining their culture to you. As long as you are fit enough, climbing Ayers Rock is a must and you can spent a night at one of the many nearby Uluru accommodation or hotel Ayers Rock or you can join one of the many Uluru tours. Although a chain handhold has been fitted to enable the climb to be easier, it is still a long and steep hike all the way to the top to Ayers Rock Australia.